Forks Zoning Proposal Critized At Meeting

May 20, 1988|by BRYAN HAY, The Morning Call

The debate over the minimum lot size to be allowed in Forks Township's rural residential zone continued last night, with the township solicitor concluding that the recommendations made by the Planning Commission last week would not stand up in court.

The Planning Commission recommended to the supervisors that the lot size in RR be increased from 1 to 2 acres if no on-lot septic and water systems are available. The commission also recommended that farmers be allowed to subdivide a maximum of five one-acre lots if they are served with on-lot septic and water systems.

Solicitor Karl Kline, however, told the supervisors last night that such action would be exclusionary and would not stand up in court against a developer, adding that the township cannot "pick and choose" who is entitled to such exclusionary zoning.

Farmers in the township have said they want the opportunity to sell off portions of their property to their siblings without paying roll-back taxes. The supervisors were considering raising the lot size to 2.5 acres, but farmers said they they would no longer be protected under state Act 319, which provides tax relief to working farms.

Last month, Kline also recommended the change to 2 acres, taking into consideration the issue raised by the farmers.

Kline said it would be inconsistent to have five 1-acre lots alongside other developments containing 2-acre lots within the same zoning district.

Other residents also addressed concerns over the proposed changes in the zoning ordinance.

W. Neill Werkheiser of Church Lane, the son of a large township landowner, told the supervisors that increased lot sizes in RR would "diminish considerably" property values because larger lots are less attractive to developers than smaller ones.

He said the interests of the large landowners are not being weighed against the interests of the citizens ad hoc committee which favors the lot- size increase.

Arthur Panzini, a geologist and a member of the township's sewer authority, retorted, sayingthat 2-acre lots are very saleable in that they offer a developer an opportunity to create a uncrowded housing project. In New Jersey, he said, the prices for 2- and 3-acre lots are "astonishing."

And if the township continues with its 1-acre lot size minimum, the fragile limestone bed which lies beneath the township could be harmed with the increase of on-lot septic systems, Panzini said.

David Kromer, president of the Northampton-Monroe Farmers Association, came out against the proposed lot increase, saying the action would create "wastelands" of brush and weeds throughout the RR zone. "There will be brush heaps all over the place," he said.